NEW LAW HELPING RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS PASSED IN BULGARIA Sofia (Bulgaria), December 10, 2002

On December 6, 2002, St. Nicholas' Day, the economic committee of the Bulgarian parliament decided to introduce a change in the corporate tax law. According to it, businesses who donate up to 10% of their profit to denominations will have their taxes cut by the same amount of money. Only denominations registered by the state will be recipients of funds. The change became part of the law on December 10, 2002.

During the communist period in Bulgaria (1944-1989) Orthodoxy, Islam and Judaism used to get some amount of money from the state budget on a regular basis mainly to repair ancient places of worship which attracted tourists.

This financial help was also one of the "proofs" for religious freedom in the country. In the last 13 years denominations got no money from the state which, aggravated by mismanagement on behalf of their leaderships, brought the financial situation of the Orthodox church especially to the brink of disaster.